Adding extra field data to Members Directory

I have spent a long time trying to understand and find information in respect of what I consider to be a relatively simple requirement, which is bringing across a couple of profile fields to appear below the member name on the Members Directory page. The end client requirement is to have both ‘Company Name’, and ‘Job Title’ underneath the member name.

How do I go about achieving this? I have literally spent hours and hours trying various bits of code in members-loop.php to no avail. It seems a very very steep learning curve trying to get stuff to work?

Also am I right in having the main BuddyPress plugin folder contained within my main WordPress theme folder, and then making changes to the files within this ‘child’ folder.

I’m using WordPress TwentyTwelve theme with the BuddyPress Template pack add on. Reason being that the design provided by our graphic designer was closer to Twenty Twelve than it was for BP default theme. I appreciate that your going to say should have gone with / switch to the BP default theme, but we are 90% through this project now with this one issue outstanding so that will not be possible.

No not going to say go with bp-default theme but am going to ask why on earth the template pack has been used – it’s now virtually obsolete, 1.7 introduced theme compatibility, it’s been the highlight of that release stream and much talked about and for all new custom themes is all you need running really, if you need to overload templates then that is entirely possible (read codex guides) and 1.8 will refine & expand that ability to manage templates. Talk to your developers get them to switch, they ought to have read up on latest release and best approach to themeing really.

I wasn’t going to suggest you use bp-default, in fact I was going to suggest a switch from it. As @hnla mentioned, 1.7 introduced a template hierarchy which will allow your developers much more flexibility when working with BP. Watch for the 1.8 release – it introduces an even more advanced template hierarchy (the dev and testing teams are working on it as we speak) which will make adding job title and company to the members directory even easier as you’ll be able to create a template for that specific page.

I will install the new 1.8 version on a test server when its out (fyi: I am THE developer. There are no other developers to talk to.) It sounds a big step in the right direction though. In answer to all the ‘why have you done it like that’ questions (on this and another thread) that you and Henry raise is because BuddyPress is a steep learning curve and this project involved bringing together both site functionality (i.e. BuddyPress) and the design that the graphic designer supplied. The design was closer to the TwentyTwelve theme, which is why that was chosen. Then its learn and make mistakes on the way. Some things you get right, others you get wrong. Some things work, some things don’t… So to answer all your ‘whys’, ‘that’s why’.